Are You An Explorer?

Age doesn’t matter when it comes to developing the attitude of being an explorer.

Adventure is most often associated with youth. Let’s not, however, confuse inexperience with adventure. To be an explorer of life is to see life as an adventure versus a chore or time served on the planet. I know adventurers who are 9 and those who are in their 90s. The choice is yours.

Cultivating a spirit of curiosity about the world is a noble endeavor, but don’t forget yourself.

The better you know who you are the richer that journey beyond you will be and become. The ultimate exploration is to know oneself because in the process of that journey you’ll face some very challenging ordeals (Hey, it’s an adventure!) that will clarify your thinking and provoke your beliefs. To understand your design, you’ll look into the mind and heart of the Designer. Wow!

“We must develop a compelling vision of later life: one that does not assume a trajectory of decline after fifty, but one that recognizes it as a time of change, growth, and new learning, a time when our courage gives us hope.”

“We are here to be excited from youth to old age, to have an insatiable curiosity about the world. Aldous Huxley once said that to carry the spirit of the child into old age is the secret of genius. And I buy that.

“We are also here to genuinely, humbly, and sincerely help others by practicing a friendly attitude. And every person is born for a purpose. Everyone has a God-given potential, in essence, built into them. And if we are to realize life to its fullest, we must realize that potential.”

This photo to the right is not Norman Vincent Peale. It is Mr. Six of Six Flags. I want to meet him! Dig the shoes! Watch him in action! (He’s actually an actor, not a real old guy but you get the point about the attitude.)

The aging process is inevitable.

How we age, however, is significantly within our control. Just because you might be part of an “aging population,” such as the Baby Boomers, it doesn’t mean that you are

over the hill

washed up

kaput

done for

Heck, you’re finally better equipped than ever.

Keith Lawrence is the co-author of Your Retirement Quest. Keith has been researching and advising those approaching and in retirement. Why wait to get started until you are retired or in assisted living to begin your Retirement Quest? Discover your Retirement Quest today regardless of what decade of life you are in.

Just about every day, I visit my Mom who is in her early 90s. This affords me the honor to meet her friends, many of whom are well into their 90s. One woman just turned 105 and looks like she is 75. I learn a lot from being with this Greatest Generation in this independent living facility. They’re an interested lot who read, discuss, debate, and embrace life. One observation I’ve had about this vital group—they aren’t the grumpy old people so often portrayed. They’re vibrant, interested, and interesting. As Peale recommends, they’ve carried a youthful curiosity into their advanced years.

Begin by discovering who you really are. Retirement age is not mandated by an employer or the government; it comes when we decide to stop discovering who we really are and what we are capable of achieving even to our death bed.

Comments

Great post, Kevin.
I believe every situation, every difficulty, every triumphant moment and every person that crosses your path happens for a reason.
You may not know the reason at the time, but if you look back in your life, you will see how each moment, person and circumstance comes together in making you the person you are today.
I am blessed to know that no one can thwart God’s plan ( not even me) :0)
Life is a journey. It is worth taking the ride like a child.
So, throw your hands up like a child on a roller coaster ride and enjoy the view.
Side note: Make sure you buckle yourself in the seat. You don’t want to fall off the roller coaster when life takes its dips, twists and turns.
** It makes sense when he says to put on the belt of truth. Now, that’s the buckle to keep you in the seat.

I am so thankful I am taking the time in my life to explore ME! The Greatest Commandment does include me, as you mentioned in a posting. He holds the map and compass! I have a guide/leader into the unknown, as I am known. I am provoked to embrace the Great Adventure!

Hi Kevin,
I always enjoy your On-Purpose minute. It’s true, I know too many people are appear just stagnant and stuck living a life of working and vegetating at home. I always enjoy exploring life, having fun, helping others. For the past few years,due to personal circumstances, I seemed to have lost my “sparkle” and have just recently begun to adventure out again and begin to take my future back. Your words always help motivate me.
Thank you.
Debra

It is hard and painful to realize I am “middle-aged.” I feel like I have the emotional maturity of a teenager. What have I been doing?? Not accepting more responsibility. Who are my peers?? I do believe in God Speed and The Love of God. Miracles can radically transform the record of my past and present into something hopeful and inspiring. I pray for dreams. They do not come from vapor. They come from the essence of who really am. I live in America. I have always lived in America. I pray that I can learn more about my country and learn to live as one of the “free and the brave!”

Dear Louise,
Knowing you as I do and the challenges you face every day, please know that you already are an inspiration to those of us who know and love you. Your passion for reading, writing, and conversation is admirable.

As for age, Grannie guided the way for being ageless even in aging. You can’t fight the aging process so it being “hard and painful” becomes a chosen point of view. What if, instead, you saw aging as opening new doors to wisdom and perspective, a time of taking the past decades where what you’ve learned previously now sets the stage for mastery in areas of strong interest.

As for emotional maturity… we’re all goofballs at some level. We’re all God’s kids, immature, yet loved. Childlike wonder is important even into old age. Each of us has places of well-developed maturity and insight, such as your reading and writing which is so wonderfully vulnerable and real. The ability to express yourself in such a manner is a sign of maturity and personal security in oneself. Such realness of person is a gift you give when you share your life journey so others can learn lessons from your experience and insights, especially those with similar struggles.

As for dreams, I, too, will join you in prayers for dreams. You are so right, they come from the essence of who you are – a woman (and a child) of God living in the landing of the free and the brave.

Keep exploring who you are and who you are in God! Your answers are there!